SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — As detectives try to piece together a high-profile Florida carjacking and homicide, two suspects have been charged in connection, a deputy was arrested and family members have been caught in lies, authorities said.
It all started earlier this month when a South Florida woman was killed following a carjacking caught on video.
The video shows a man walking up to the woman’s car with what investigators said was an AR-15 and getting into the back seat before she continued driving. The next day, Seminole County deputies found a body in a torched car not far from where she was last seen.
Here’s what we know so far:
What happened
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, drove from South Florida to Seminole County on April 11.
While she was driving, a green Acura followed her and hit her bumper attempting to make her stop. She told her husband this over the phone and he told her not to stop, said Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma at a press conference. Neither of them called the police.
Her husband said she was in the area to visit family. Investigators said the two family members in that area were not expecting her, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
Just before 6 p.m. on April 11, a witness recorded a possible carjacking at the intersection of East Lake Drive and Tuskawilla Road in the Winter Springs area.
In the video, an armed suspect in a black hoodie with a ski or ninja-style mask was seen pointing a weapon at Aguasvivas, who was in her white Dodge Durango before getting into the back seat. A second suspect drove immediately behind the Durango in a green Acura sedan.
They drove southbound and ultimately ended up in Osceola County where witnesses reported hearing gunshots and then finding the Durango on fire. When deputies from the Osceola Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene, they found a body burned inside an SUV.
They also found a dozen 10mm handgun shells and a “projectile” on the scene, Lemma said at a press conference.
“Because the body was badly burned, we will need DNA and dental records to make a positive identification,” Lemma said at a press conference. “But we strongly believe it’s her.”
Two days later, the green Acura was found parked illegally at an Orange County apartment complex.
Lemma said deputies knew it was the car they were looking for because the green Acura is incredibly rare in Florida. There are only three of them and two have been salvaged.
Arrest #1
On April 14, an Orange County deputy was arrested after he reportedly tried to get information about the case from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Department by using a fake name.
Francisco Alberto Estrella Chicon, the deputy, called the sheriff’s office hours after the body was found in the torched car. He identified himself as Francisco Archuela with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and said he was a cousin of Aguasvivas. He called and asked for more information twice, but deputies couldn’t disclose anything because it was an active investigation, according to his arrest affidavit.
When detectives searched Aguasvivas’ husband’s phone as part of their investigation, they saw him and Chicon messaging and found a video of the conversation Chicon had with deputies under the false name. Detectives also found Chicon used his agency access to the state's Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) to contact the deputy in Seminole to ask about the case.
He was arrested and charged with interception and disclosure of wire, oral and electronic communication, disclosure of wire, oral, or electric communication, disclosure or use of confidential criminal justice information, unlawful use of a two-way communications device and accessing computer or electronic devices without authorization or exceeding authorization, according to court records.
Arrest #2
On April 19, Jordanish Torres-Garcia, 28, was found and arrested in Orange County for a federal arrest warrant for violating probation stemming from federal weapons charges in Puerto Rico. When he spoke with deputies, he admitted he was the suspect that got out of the Acura and held Aguasvivas at gunpoint, according to federal court documents.
Garcia said minutes before the carjacking, he received a call advising him Aguasvivas “was on her way.” He also said another person was with him during the incident who stayed in the Acura and drove it after Garcia got into the Durango, according to court records.
He admitted he was paid $1,500 to take Aguasvivas and “deliver her to another individual.”
Deputies also said his Facebook profile picture showed him wearing the same mask and outfit as the suspect in the video taken by a witness.
Arrest #3
As the investigation progressed, detectives learned from Aguasvivas’ brother that Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez, 27, was the last person to speak to Aguasvivas on FaceTime before she was killed.
Deputies believe Aguasvivas was on her way to meet Hernandez at his Casselberry home to deliver money and other items, according to a news release.
Aguasvivas’ brother, Lewis, sent deputies a screenshot of Hernandez's photo, and after running through a facial detection program, they learned it was Hernandez. Lewis told deputies he talked to Hernandez on the phone who said Aguasvivas was up in Seminole County to deliver money and “other stuff” for a friend, authorities said.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the home where they found drugs, money and a firearm in his house, and an arrest warrant was executed on fentanyl trafficking and marijuana with intent to sell charges, court records explained.
Hernandez turned himself in on April 22 but has not been charged in connection with the carjacking.
Arrest #4
On April 23, Lemma announced a person of interest in the case named Kevin Ocasio Justiniano was arrested in Puerto Rico on unrelated drug trafficking and weapons charges.
He is believed to be the driver of the Acura and is expected to be charged in connection with the case, Lemma said at the press conference. He also was seen in a red Toyota Corolla in the same apartment complex as the Acura.
Deputies found he had a connection to the purchase of the Acura through Facebook and they pinpointed his cell phone to the location of the crime, Lemma said.
Where the investigation is now
Aguasvivas’ husband and Lewis were cooperating with deputies but are no longer helping, Lemma said. The husband is “not cooperating at all” while Lewis has been “crossed up in multiple lies.”
Lemma said Lewis was doing an independent investigation before he told police what he learned.
"If your sister is gone missing or believed to be dead and you’re not working with the police on the investigation, you’re doing your own independent, they call that a clue, right? It is incredible out-of-the-ordinary behavior," Lemma said at a press conference.
Deputies think Lewis was tapping into her social media accounts on a device that was sharing the same iCloud account where he could see any FaceTime calls or communication she may have had. That would explain how Lewis knew Hernandez was the last person Aguasvivas talked to.
“This case is about drugs and money,” Lemma said in a statement. “We believe the most dangerous people connected with this case are now off our streets.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Who was she?
Aguasvivas was a 31-year-old who lived in Homestead. She was originally from the Dominican Republic but has been a U.S. citizen for 5 years. Her husband is a business owner in South Florida.
Timeline
April 11:
Noon: Aguasvias leaves South Florida, driving into Seminole County and downtown Orlando.
3:30 p.m.: She stops at a gas station for about 8 minutes then drives to Winter Springs.
5:45 p.m..: A witness records a possible carjacking in progress at the intersection of East Lake Drive and Tuskawilla Road.
7 p.m.: Witnesses in Osceola County reported hearing gunshots and later discovered a vehicle on fire.
Deputies find a body burned in a car 30 minutes from where Aguasvias was last seen.
April 13:
The green Acura is found by deputies.
April 14:
Francisco Alberto Estrella Chicon, an Orange County deputy, is arrested in connection with the investigation.
April 19
Jordanish Torres-Garcia was arrested as a suspect under probation violation.
Garcia admits he was the suspect who exited the green Acura and approached Agiasvias.
April 22:
Giovany Crespo Hernandez, who deputies said is the last person Aguasvias spoke to via Facetime before she was killed, was arrested on drug charges. He has not been charged in connection with the carjacking.
April 23
Kevin Ocasio Justiniano was taken into custody in Puerto Rico on unrelated charges but will be charged in connection to the carjacking.